


Nervous System

by nachtmaredoll



Series: In Two Minds [1]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:48:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29262282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nachtmaredoll/pseuds/nachtmaredoll
Summary: Captain David Allen has always been android neutral, and part of that stems from being friends with Elijah Kamski and being fully capable of seeing situations and arguments from all sides. At the same time, his friend’s sudden reappearance in his life, and his ‘gift’ comes at an extremely odd time as androids are going rogue and something called ‘deviancy’ is rearing its ugly and confusing head. 2038 has just started, and David isn’t entirely sure he’ll make it through the year without suffering several migraines first.
Relationships: Captain Allen/Original Android Character(s) (Detroit: Become Human), Original Chloe | RT600/Elijah Kamski
Series: In Two Minds [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148909





	Nervous System

**Author's Note:**

> This title may seem familiar, and that is because it is. This is an old story that I originally began publishing a few years back, grew unhappy with, and am only just now rewriting. Some of the original premise is the same, but it is no longer the same as it once was. 
> 
> I hope all you lovely deviants enjoy this.

_“Captain David Allen; do you think you could take time from hunting deviants with your elite SWAT team to come out and visit an old friend? I’ll be expecting you by 07:00 am today.”_

**_April 16, 2038_ **

**_AM 05:00_**

* * *

David groaned as he listened to the voicemail, it was not truly a call that he could ignore since it was coming from the very person that he was just contemplating contacting as a source for information on the recent occurrences of androids going rogue, or as the incidents had been titled: ‘deviancy’. Over the last few weeks, there had been a string of incidents involving androids either going missing, acting violently or outright attacking to even killing their human owners. As the Captain of an elite SWAT unit, he had been seeing more and more of the cases as they were routinely called in to handle hostage situations or to simply use brute force against whichever latest android had gone deviant. It had begun to happen so much that his own neutrality towards the lifelike machines was beginning to break and fall into the not caring to hatred sides of the spectrum. He’d owned an android before, an ST200 model, but that had been years ago now and while he had not treated the assistant machine any differently from a human assistant, he was finding it increasingly hard to view these ‘deviants’ as anything but wayward and defective machines.

He was currently exhausted after having just spent most of his night in a high stress hostage negotiation, tending to the victims of the fallout and then spending hours at the Central DPD putting his paperwork in. He’d just been about to set his car to drive him home from the station house when he’d made the mistake of checking the voicemails on his personal cellphone and had discovered the message from Elijah Kamski. It had been several years since he’d last spoken to the genius, and while it hadn’t been due to any type of concrete ‘falling out’, he hadn’t attempted to reach out after the first initial bout of confusion at the sudden lack of communication from the younger man. Neither had Kamski; until now. He couldn’t deny that he was curious as to what the inventor could possibly want to see him over, or that he’d been contemplating contacting the man himself, but he was exhausted after his long night and didn’t truly wish to deal with the eccentric man right now. However, he couldn’t ignore his old friend and he could use this opportunity to gain insight into the deviancy case for work.

Sighing, he shifted more comfortably in the driver’s seat of his fully automatic car before programming the address of Kamski’s mansion into the destination and shifted his manual control over to fully automatic before leaning his seat back to nap on the drive out. The mansion was a good hour out of town, and since Kamski usually required his full attention, the nap would hopefully do him some type of good. He doubted that he would feel fully recharged after only an hour nap, but it would definitely be far better than walking into the man’s house while running on adrenaline and nothing else. Maybe he would get lucky and Chloe would make him breakfast and coffee when he got there; if he asked the android nicely enough that is. 

David huffed lightly as he pulled up to the thoroughly modern mansion, it was almost like an odd nostalgia trip being here again, and that feeling was even more compounded as his tired gaze fell onto the softly smiling figure of Chloe waiting for him on the doorstep. She had not changed much, but as an android she really wouldn’t, and it was slightly odd to have a feeling of warmth rise up into his chest as he almost felt like he was coming home. He probably shouldn’t have the sensation, considering it had been Kamski to cut their ties, and yet he couldn’t keep the soft smile from his face as he climbed out of his car and moved to retrieve his bag from his backseat. Whatever had caused Kamski to pull away from him, it didn’t involve Chloe, and so he wouldn’t take it out on the sweet blonde android.

“It is good to see you again, David. Or should I say ‘Captain Allen’?” He chuckled at the light teasing within her tone as he shut his door and locked his car before walking to her. She smiled up at him, her blue eyes sparkling with amusement, but with her facial expression still perfectly set and reserved in her permanent Mona Lisa Smile. It had unnerved him, back when androids had first been created, and his ex-wife had asked him for one of her successor models, but now it was soothing to his soul. The way her soft lips curved up into a small smile that somehow reached her eyes and made the blue orbs shine was a balm to his tired soul. “You look exhausted.”

“I am exhausted. And hello to you too, Chloe.” He smiled a little wider as she nodded and turned to open the door to the house for them. He sighed as the low warmth of the house settled into him, further making him realize the level of his exhaustion as well as causing him to register the chill that had settled in from the early spring weather and the lack of food intake for the last two days. As if on cue, his stomach rumbled at the thought of food, and he chuckled as the blonde tutted at him before slightly changing course from the direction of the guest bedroom and instead towards the kitchen. He followed behind her silently, keeping his footsteps steady and quiet to match the stillness of the house. From the lack of sound, he could guess that Kamski was possibly either in the lab buried underneath the house, or his androids had convinced him to sleep. Either were strong possibilities, as the labs had soundproofing to combat the whirring noises of the machinery that the inventor used to further create and tinker, or even to run maintenance on the androids he kept in the house in addition to Chloe.

“Do you still prefer your coffee black, David?” Chloe questioned suddenly, and he blinked as he registered that she’d somehow divested him of his bag before pushing him into a chair at the dining room table. She was smooth, and if he’d been anywhere else, he would’ve panicked over his lack of attention. As it was, he was absolutely safe here, within these stone walls, with her at his side and the custom security system that Kamski had designed keeping them safe; he could relax here, as thoroughly and completely as if he was within his own home in the city.

“Please, Chloe.” He nodded as he pulled himself from his thoughts and finally answered her. He could tell from the look on her face that she would be cajoling him into bed soon, or as soon as she had fed him, and he wouldn’t even put up a fight. He needed to sleep anyways, and if by chance or miracle Kamski was currently asleep, then he too could take advantage and rest. Sleep would definitely be welcome after the past few days of running on adrenaline tipped fumes, especially after the Phillips situation last night.

* * *

When David woke up again, there was soft daylight filtering in through the closed curtains at the window of his room, and he no longer felt as if he was going to topple over or be sick. He didn’t remember falling asleep, and he could only briefly recall Chloe helping him out if his SWAT gear after he’d eaten a light breakfast and drank half a cup of coffee. He felt infinitely better after having rested, though he was hungry again, and so he let the feeling pull him up from the soft bed to dress in his fatigues—now having been presumably washed as they sat folded on the top of his dresser—before retrieving his two phones from his bag and walking out of the bedroom and back towards the kitchen for the second time that day.

As he walked through the house, he listened and hummed along to the soft music drifting through the speakers, smiling at the telltale sign that Kamski was awake and excited over something. Stepping into the kitchen, he smirked and stood at attention as he watched Chloe and Kamski as the android cooked and the inventor virtually buzzed as he excitedly paced. He had missed his old friend, and seeing him like this reinforced that feeling of camaraderie and warmth.

“So he’s here? He actually came?” Kamski’s— Elijah’s—voice was hushed but full of excitement and he finally released a chuckle as he stepped fully into the room to announce his presence.

“Of course I did, Elijah. Why wouldn’t I?” He questioned and laughed as the slightly taller man jumped and spun to look at him before smiling and rounding the kitchen island counter to meet David in a hug as he stepped further into the room. He’d been wary, at first, and unsure if this would be awkward or not after so many years of radio silence from the other, but in hugging the man it was like no time had passed and they were still a standard police officer and a CEO—as they had been ten years ago before Elijah had left CyberLife. “You called me, so of course I came by.”

“I didn’t know if you would, not after so long and absolutely nothing but radio silence from me.” Elijah replied as he shifted and admitted his doubts, something David knew from experience and could tell was still hard for the younger man to do. “I have not been idle in this past decade, David. I have been working on a few projects, and I recently finished the main one, I wanted to show it to you immediately but then I realized there were pieces to finish and that is why I requested your presence.”

David hummed as he listened to the younger man chatter, half explaining his reasonings for calling him and half apologizing as his voice rose and arched with his excitement and he began talking with his hands. It was always a study of body language and psychology whenever he watched Elijah speak; to outsiders he would remain calm and aloof, with only a few hand gestures, but whenever it was among close friends his whole body would move with his buzzing excitement. Sometimes, if excited enough or even depending on the topic being discussed, the man would even be seen doing full body motions or could even be caught pacing. Watching Elijah in moments like this had actually helped his skills in reading people and knowing how to negotiate with perps, or even talk down some victims, from heightened states of anxiety back to a level headed calmness.

“Elijah, lunch first. Then you can show David what you’ve been working on.” Chloe’s calm voice cut in through David’s thoughts and served to cut Elijah off mid-sentence as he had begun to go into another of his philosophical rants on the manner of life, death and souls.

“Hm, right.” Elijah hummed as he turned from David, and he barely suppressed a snort as the man obeyed the soft order like a puppy. No matter how much time had passed them by, it seemed that Elijah being absolutely wrapped around Chloe’s little finger would never change. It was honestly adorable, and despite the inter-racial coupling, it was absolutely too easy to see them as a married couple. It was something that David was striving to protect with this sudden flood of deviancy cases; if it was not something that could be brought under control or solved, innocent androids like Chloe could very well see destruction in their futures.

“Right.” He nodded as he stepped further into the kitchen and sat beside Elijah at the island counter as Chloe served them their lunch. 

David was quiet as he followed his friend down the stairs and into the basement of the home, careful of the different cords hanging from the ceiling and boxes of parts they passed by as they walked through a well lit hallway and past a few rooms featuring hospital like gurneys with sheets over prone android bodies. It was almost like walking through a morgue, and if it had been anyone else’s home, David would’ve been creeped out and worried over the psychological health of the keeper. There was care, however, as sheets were smoothed out and tucked around the bodies that he could catch bare glimpses of before they passed through a set of double doors that opened upon a large creation rig. The tracks on the floor were larger than David knew CyberLife used, the arms seemed to be slimmer and he could only assume were much more precise than Elijah’s earlier designs, and quite possibly more than what CyberLife currently used in their production facilities. It truly wouldn’t surprise him considering the way Elijah was constantly striving for improvement in all aspects of his life and intelligence as the man was always challenging himself.

“This… is what I wanted to show you.” Elijah spoke, pulling David’s attention away from his thoughts and to the all white chassis hanging within the center grasp of the creation rig itself. Within the rig’s hold rested an unfinished and petitely framed chassis; delicate and thin, the figure was finely sculpted with hints of synthetic muscles in the slim arms and legs. The figure was almost like a dancer or a marionette, and slightly reminded him of artists’ figures with the preciseness of the joints and smoothness of the specialized plastimetal. The figure was without a front piece, which left the android’s ribs, thirium pump, heart regulator and other insides exposed to the room—or they would be without the careful wrapping of what might be something similar to seran wrap keeping the delicate insides from full exposure.

“What is it?” David questioned as he carefully stepped closer, watching his footing to stay off the delicate machinery tracks and onto the strip of standing pad alongside Elijah.

“A new model, technically you could argue older teenager to young adult. She will appear to humans, and androids, as someone between the ages of nineteen to twenty-one and is designed with youth in mind to be as close to background noise as possible. She is a CA400, and is my most advanced creation to date. She has military and fighting protocols similar to a SQ800, Myrmidon or a Trojan, miscellaneous assistant or secretarial functions like a ST200 or ST300, as well as being fully equipped with improved capabilities of a WR400, and investigative skills that I promise you will surpass that RK800 model shown on the news last night.” He blinked as he took in the information and slowly turned his head to look sideways at his silent but smirking friend. He had caught onto the pattern of her functions, as well as her model number, and he was seriously considering the need to check Elijah for a fever or for having fully and completely lost his ever loving mind. “She’s yours.”

He hung his head and huffed as Elijah confirmed his suspicions; turning away from the chassis, the rig and the inventor, he stepped off the standing pad and walked away from the entire system. He was a bit beyond words. Androids were slowly becoming deviants, and while this wasn’t a CyberLife created android, the risk was still very much present—in theory. Even if there was no risk of this model going rogue on him, there was still the fact that he was rarely home, worked a high risk job and there wasn’t much love for androids within the DPD. His own feelings towards Elijah’s creations swung wildly between simple neutrality to wariness and even hatred—like his feelings of disgust towards the Phillips’ android Daniel. Although… he held the same range of emotions towards his fellow humans.

“If it makes you feel any better, she’s also made like Chloe, fully cognizant and does not have a LED at her temple. No one will know she’s anything but a human, leading to her increased capabilities of assisting you at work or at home. She has the most advanced learning algorithm I can currently create, and will grow into whatever you wish her to be.” Elijah’s voice was soft and low, close to him as the inventor placed a hand on David’s shoulder and continued to explain his creation. He didn’t know how long this gift had been in the works, but he knew that he wouldn’t be denying the gift; truly and honestly: he couldn’t. To deny this gift was akin to denying his friendship with Elijah, and he simply and utterly refused to do such a thing. He was still slightly annoyed over it though, as well as with the ridiculous timing of it.

“Partially.” He acquiesced finally, after several minutes of quiet and gathering his thoughts. Sighing, he turned back around to look at the frame of the android and shook his head in defeat. “What did you need me here for?”

“I need your input on the size of her bust.” Elijah answered as he stepped away from David and towards a nearby rolling computer and monitor. David slowly followed after the other, curious as the rig powered on and shifted around the blank chassis, ready for instructional input to finish the body. “I also need you to decide on eye color, skin tone, and her hair. I wasn’t sure what you would want, and as this is a gift, I thought it prudent to wait for your arrival in order to ask.”

David sighed as he thought over Elijah’s questions, watching the rig as it carefully unwrapped the protective covering from the prone android, and shaking his head at the reality that was his life, opened his mouth to give his preferred specifications to the eccentric man beside him.

* * *

* * *

MODEL CA400

SERIAL#: 012 021 994

BIOS 1.02 REVISION 0004

BOOT…

LOADING OS…

SYSTEM INITIALIZATION…

CHECKING BIOCOMPONENTS… OK

INITIALIZING BIOSENSORS… OK

INITIALIZING AI ENGINE… OK

MEMORY STATUS…

ALL SYSTEMS OK

READY

* * *

She blinked as her HUD came up and filtered her vision from clearly seeing the two men standing before her. One was pale, dressed in a pair of black jeans, a long sleeved black t-shirt with red blocked text, and a pair of glasses hanging from his collar. The other man was slightly darker in skin tone, but not by much, simply as if he saw more sun than his cohort; was dressed in a set of black pants and a black turtleneck. Neither had taken notice of her just yet, and she felt her head slightly tilt as she took in her surroundings. There were mechanical arms whirring and spinning around her, and from the lack of anything solid beneath her feet, she could only assume that she was lifted up and away from the floor. Her hearing was slightly filtered, as was her vision from the HUD running analyses of her body and the room around her. It was almost as if too much was going through her mind at once and her senses were suffering for it.

“Oh. She’s awake.” The slightly taller man spoke, and she turned her attention to him as he stepped forward, carefully avoiding the moving arms and the tracks she could just barely glimpse that were set in the floor around her. Blinking again, she focused on the man and took in his dark brown hair, his pale blue eyes and made a small noise in the back of her throat as her HUD registered the man’s identity.

[IDENTIFYING… Elijah Kamski, 36; CyberLife Founder; Creator]

“Good afternoon, CA400.” Kamski greeted and she slightly tilted her head as her internal clock provided her with the time and showed a discrepancy between his words and the actually time of the day.

“It is currently 05:00 PM, Mr. Kamski.” She corrected gently, and blinked again at the sound of her own voice in her ears. It was soft, gentle and youthful, but also held a slight musical cadence. Her analysis system and HUD provided her with input and knowledge that voices like hers were found by humans to be sweet, soothing and unassuming; however, the popping up of her HUD once more caused her to rear back slightly as she blinked and held her eyes closed. It was an irritating feature that was serving to be in her way, and yet she did not know how to manage it or turn it off.

“What’s wrong?” Kamski’s voice caught her attention and she opened her eyes to focus on him as he reached up to touch her face and take her chin in hand as he turned her head to face him. His brows were furrowed in thought as he looked her over, and she once again squeezed her eyes shut when her HUD popped up and filtered over her range of vision.

“My HUD is bothering me, sir.” She closed her eyes as as he stepped away from her. After a few moments of silence, she could feel the mechanical arms shift and something attach to the back of her head, at the base of her skull as the clicking of keys filled the room. She could feel her systems running diagnostics, and not sensing an order to go into sleep, she allowed the intrusive code to check her over. It was an odd sensation, almost as if something was brushing curiously but lightly over her mind as the diagnostic checked her programming. After several minutes, she jostled slightly within the rig as hands touched her bare body and detached the connection at her skull before lowering her down within the arms’ grip.

“How does that feel?” This time, she took care in opening her eyes, starting first with the left and then slowly following with the right as the HUD did not come slamming up into her vision, no filter appeared over her surroundings, and as she looked to Kamski, only a small but still legible notification identifying him briefly appeared in her periphery before disappearing. Smiling at him, she slowly nodded.

“Much better, Mr. Kamski.” She answered and lightly hummed as he stepped back from her and the rig set her slowly and carefully on her feet before pulling away from her and following the tracks set within the floor to the head of the system and stilling. Blinking, she watched the movements carefully, and hummed as her HUD gently filled in the missing information on exactly what she was looking at. Answers found, she turned back towards her creator and tilted her head curiously as he held a hand out to her.

“Come.” Blinking, she held out her hand and briefly noticed the black painted nails before gripping his hand and allowing him to guide her away from the creation rig. She stayed quiet as the two men began talking again, and followed unspoken orders as Kamski pulled out a white fluffy robe before helping her into it.

Humming again, she turned slightly as she looked around the room and zoned out of their discussion. Her eyes were taking in everything within the sterile room and filling in the missing pieces of her mind. Everything was already within her system databanks, but waking up meant her actively needing to access and use the information provided to her, and that would take time.

“CA400.” She hummed as she turned back to Kamski and the man beside him, having gotten lost in her thoughts and not having registered her creator trying to get her attention.

“My apologies, sir. What was it you needed?” She blinked again as she tilted her head to watch him. He was talking again, moving his hands as he did, and she found herself frowning from the distraction it caused as her mind tried to trace his movements instead of actually listening to him. Zoning back into his voice, she smiled a little crookedly, and innocently as he didn’t seem to have noticed her wayward thoughts.

“... and so, I made you to be an assistant and companion for David. He is your owner and keeper; now, focus on him and register your name.” Kamski spoke, ending his rambling—or explanation rather—with the soft order, and she blinked as she shifted to look properly at the man in front of her.

[IDENTIFYING… Captain David Allen, 44; Detroit City Police Department, SWAT Unit 32; Owner/Keeper]

“Dahlia.” Captain Allen spoke softly, but firmly and clearly, and she studied him as her system registered her name as it briefly popped up in her HUD before fading away.

“My name is Dahlia.”

* * *

She idly kicked her feet as she sat on top of the bathroom counter and watched the three blondes—Chloe, Nimue and Lunete—prepare a shower for her as they discussed her measurements and clothing options for her. From what she’d heard, the creation process could sometimes leave traces of thirium, plastimetal dust, and even create an itching sensation from the fresh application of the synthetic skin and so the three older androids had insisted on her bathing to rid herself of such annoyances before they had time to manifest. She had seen the logic within the suggestion, and so she had allowed them to guide her into the twins’ rooms and shower. That had been almost ten minutes ago and she’d spent the time since stepping into the bathroom listening to the sisters lightly bicker. Shaking her head, she hopped down from the counter and took the terry cloth robe off before stepping into the shower and rinsing her body under the lukewarm water.

She hummed as the three continued their discussion, now silently as she tuned them out and they stopped trying to get her input on style. Instead, she focused on running her hands through her thick curls and over her skin as that itching sensation started. It took a few tries, but she pulled back the skin to reveal the white plastimetal of her chassis and focused on washing down the irritants from her body. It felt nice as she worked and so she focused more on the sensors within her skin, finding synthetic muscles lightly outlined within the chassis as well as a few tickle points that caused her to giggle involuntarily. Kamski’s mind was truly a fascinating thing to be able to create artificial life to such a high degree, and her curious mind slightly itched to question him on how he’d originally had the idea or even why he’d decided to do such a thing. Her internal knowledge banks told her he was a living version of Victor Frankenstein, a true Modern Prometheus; those same sources informed her of the man’s downfall and the tragic ending of the Monster dying alongside his Creator—and then her mind clocked the red text on Elijah’s shirt as being a quote from that very book.

Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the man, she stepped under the spray of the shower head to give herself another rinse before turning the water off and stepping out of the shower. Nimue and Lunete were gone from the room, but Chloe still stood within the walls, leaning casually against a wall and holding a clean towel within her arms. “Here, let me.” She nodded in answer and lightly huffed as the older android began to gently rub and pat her down. The motions were methodical but soothing, and served to quickly dry not only her body, but also her waist length black and white curls.

She’d briefly caught her appearance in the bathroom mirror when they’d first guided her in, and she’d been momentarily enraptured by her purple eyes, with the slight white tones mixed with an icy blue that made her knowledge banks equate her eyes with frozen nebulas. Nimue had made the comment that the universe was within her eyes, and she could only agree with her. They were absolutely captivating, and despite not being a naturally occurring human color, there were things like contacts and more than enough humans that utilized such things that no one would ever question her oddity. Kamski had apparently also modeled her physical frame to appeal to David’s sexually driven preferences, and so she held a bust of 36D, with a 32” waist and 36” hips. A perfectly designed hourglass—or so her research told her. Her slim and unassuming beauty was made to make her seem like just a simple pretty human; she didn’t even have a LED.

Blinking, she pulled her gaze from the mirror and obeyed Chloe’s efforts to make her turn in place just as the twins walked back into the room. “We borrowed a shirt from David for her to wear while we wait for our order of clothing to be delivered.”

“That works for now.” Chloe replied and she hummed as the android gestured for her to lift her arms and proceeded to dress her. The shirt material was soft, and felt nice against her skin, causing her to smile even as the long sleeves fell past her hands and the hem stopped well past her mid-thigh. “That definitely works for now.”

* * *

* * *

David raised a brow as he watched Dahlia as she sat in a chair, tapping at a magizine that Lunete had put in her hands in order to get the girl to sit still in order for the older android to brush through and treat the younger’s long curls. It was a bit odd to watch the young girl, and not simply because she was a newly activated android—he’d once owned an ST200 after all—but because there was a bright curiosity in her eyes as she constantly observed everything around her. He also noticed that unless being directly spoken to, she tended to tune the people around her out, and he’d caught her doing it several times within the last fifteen minutes alone. To a degree, she reminded him of a cat or a corvid: shiny objects are shiny but only for a few moments before something else caught her fancy. It was… endearing.

Elijah was fascinated by her algorithm working so smoothly and efficiently, and had spent a few bursts of moments where her attention held asking her several different questions, growing more excited and proud as she repeatedly answered correctly. Even David was impressed with her skills as Elijah began reading off case studies from his tablet and she consistently answered or solved each case correctly. When Elijah had initially stated that Dahlia could out investigate the RK800 Prototype he’d met last night, he’d been skeptical, but now he was pretty sure the girl could give her elder a run for his money.

Thinking over the prototype—Connor—made him frown, however, as his thoughts circled back to Daniel and the way the android had gone deviant. Leaning back into the couch, he closed his eyes as he crossed his arms over his chest and thought back over the night before. Connor had gone above and beyond the protocols set for his mission of negotiating Daniel down into a calm enough state to release Emma Phillips, and from those added actions, an officer was still alive as well as a daughter returned to her mother. There were still losses, of course, but it could’ve been a whole hell of a lot worse. To top it all off? Connor had walked away from that rooftop alive and in one piece, aside from a small graze from a bullet wound in his right shoulder and a matching hole through his jacket and dress shirt. He had been impressed by the android, and he still was.

“David?” He blinked and opened his eyes at the soft voice calling his name. Chloe stood a few feet in front of him, slightly bent at the waist as she leant over him, and she was holding his work phone out to him. “One of your coworkers is calling you, a Captain Jeffrey Fowler.” He blinked again as she spoke softly and he sat up before taking the phone and stepping out of the room to take the call.

“This is Captain Allen.” He answered in greeting as he leant against a wall within the house, adequately enough away from the four androids’ hearing range so nothing work related was overheard.

“David!” Jeffrey huffed in exasperation as well as relief and he couldn’t help but chuckle at the tone. “Who on earth answered your phone?”

“Is that why you called me?” He chuckled as he teased, too amused by the easily aggravated police captain.

“You’re not funny.” Jeffrey griped and he let out another chuckle before bracing a bare foot flat against the black stone wall. “And no, that wasn’t why I called you. Smartass. I was calling to check on you. Last night could be considered a win, but an android was still involved. I wanted an audible report from you, but also to tell you to take two days of rest. I cleared the paperwork to give your entire unit the rest and recovery period. Last night could’ve been far worse, and that android saved Wilson’s life—I wanted your honest opinion of the thing. If you’re already resting, however, it can all wait. Just check in with me when you return to work. Got it?”

“Got it.” He replied as he nodded and thought over everything Jeffrey had said. All of it was so similar to his own thoughts before Chloe had pulled him out of them. “Thank you for the days of rest, Jeffrey. I’ll speak to you soon. I’m happy to hear Wilson will recover—I had been worried we would lose him. Take a break of your own, Jeffrey.”

“Get Hank to behave and maybe I’ll be able to.” Jeffrey grouched and he laughed as they both ended the call. Once again he thought of Connor and made a mental note to thank the android if he ever saw him again.

* * *

Dahlia was a quiet thing, as he was steadily discovering; she was currently sitting in a chair within his guest room at Elijah’s reading a novel that Lunete had handed her after she’d grown bored playing with the magazines around the house. She didn’t talk much, and when she did, it was softly spoken and bluntly stated. Her voice was melodic to listen to, and he faintly registered it as being similar to an old singer from the mid-2010s. Shaking his head, he turned from watching her read and back to focusing on the paperwork of his men from the Phillips incident. Despite having been given two rest days, he wanted to check his men’s work while the events were still fresh, and so he was on his work laptop and logged into the DPD’s system.

The android negotiator disobeyed protocols and ordinances that disallow androids to carry firearms, but in this instance, the failure to obey this law benefited the police department as the android was able to get close enough to the android perp to be able to shoot. This was not a necessary course of action, in the end, but the ability to adapt in such a way was highly effective. The prototype model will be useful in other such high risk situations, as well as welcome, in the future.

David blinked as he smiled at the tenth testimony singing the reserved, but clear praises for Connor. Not all of the add-on notes were worded exactly the same, but all held high praise for CyberLife’s newest model. He could also read between the lines of his men’s words: do not punish him for disobeying the gun laws. There was a protectiveness underlying the reports, a mentality rarely given to anyone outside of their unit or their fellow DPD officers, and yet Connor had earned it all the same. He wondered if the android would ever learn of it, or learn to appreciate the sentiment.

“What are you doing?” He turned at the softly spoken question, humming as Dahlia’s purple eyes met his own green ones before looking over his shoulder at his computer screen. “Work?”

“Yes; I’m reading over my men’s reports. We had a hostage case last night before I was called out here.” He explained as he picked up his personal phone and pulled up a news app, finding the correct video footage and turning the screen horizontally before handing it over to her and pressing ‘play’ so she could watch it for herself. He knew from watching her that she preferred hands-on learning, and he also knew from psychology that showing was often more efficient and longer lasted than simply telling.

“It’s been just over an hour since a little girl was taken hostage on the top floor of a building here in downtown Detroit. Details are still emerging on exactly what happened, but the hostage taker could be the family’s android…”

“Is the little girl ok?” Dahlia questioned as she paused the video and looked up at him as she turned off the screen.

“She is alive. ‘Ok’ is… questionable.” He answered slowly as he crossed his arms over his chest and pictured the sobbing girl that they’d been able to deliver safely back to her mother. Emma and Caroline Phillips were going to need therapy after an experience like that, and he could only hope they would heal in time. He highly doubted Caroline would ever trust another android again, but he sorely hoped Emma would eventually find forgiveness and understanding within her heart towards other androids—especially towards other PL600 models. “An experience like that can leave scars upon the human psyche, and we can only hope that she recovers in time.”

“Noted.” Dahlia nodded and held his phone out to him, and he took in the detail of her nails being painted in a double matte and shiny black, designed in a French tip style; he hadn’t noticed before, but now that he had he found it fascinating to see the advancements in details that Elijah could now create. “I have finished my book.”

“Go ask Lunete for another then, you are not confined to this room, or to my side.” He replied and chuckled slightly at the ‘oh’ face she made before thoughtfully pursing her lips and turning to leave the bedroom in search of the other android. Shaking his head, he ran a hand through his dark brown hair and hummed. “Why did you have to make her so fucking sexy, Elijah?”

* * *

* * *

**_April 17, 2038_ **

**_AM 11:00_**

Dahlia tugged idly at a curl as she sat on the bed of her shared room with David, tuning out the sisters as they once again got lost within discussing clothing and the things they had purchased for her yesterday. She was still only dressed in David’s borrowed shirt, something that was solid black with white and gray lettering and the words: DPD Swat over the left pec and down the sleeves. It was a very comfortable shirt, and while she understood the social concepts of clothing, she was currently quite content to just staying in the t-shirt and ignoring the ‘trying on’ practice that the three blondes were so animatedly discussing.

Rolling her eyes as they once again circled on topics, she hummed and shifted before subtly grabbing the bags and slipping out of the room and into the bathroom. She would try them on herself, and would return whatever she didn’t like to Elijah—as he was much more calm and sensible than the energetic siblings. 

Roughly thirty minutes later, she stepped out wearing a pair of black underwear hidden beneath a pair of thirium blue and black leggings, paired with a matching tank top under a long sleeved black t-shirt dress with a graphic of a grayed out ribcage covering a thirium blue colored human heart. She liked the aesthetic, and found it highly ironic as it was a tease to what her nature truly was, and yet within a LED at her temple, no one would ever know she was anything other than a quiet and quirky human girl in her late teens or early twenties.

Stepping into the bedroom with her pile of clothing she would like to keep, she stopped at the sight of David shirtless as he stood at the side of the bed pulling on a fresh rib shirt and another turtleneck. The man was broad, with toned arms and chest, paired with a set of six pack abs and she found herself curious to what weight he could bench press. Humming to herself, she waited until he was dressed again before stepping towards the bed and speaking. “I have what I’d like to keep, but I don’t have anything to _keep_ them _in_.”

“Chloe gifted you the large backpack that’s sitting on the dresser. You can pack what you want to keep and she’ll collect the rest to return it all at a later date.” David explained and she nodded before moving to the pretty black and white bag resting on top of the dresser. After she used it to carry her clothing, she was definitely going to keep it and use it whenever she went anywhere as it was terribly pretty. “When you’re done with that, try on the shoes at the foot of the bed, and be ready to leave. I have to be back in town by tonight, and the earlier the better.”

“Understood, David.” She nodded as she processed her orders and began carefully packing the sets of underwear, sleepwear, leggings, shirts and pairs of socks within the bag. It wasn’t terribly much, and she could hopefully buy more, but of what she had liked, she’d tried her utmost to grab all articles. She smiled as the backpack cinched closed with a draw string, and even allowed for just a little more space. Moving from the dresser, she stepped to the bed to look at the shoe boxes and see which of them fit her best.

Maybe ten minutes later, she had stuffed two pairs of flats within her backpack, kept a box of black tennis shoes out, and had put on a pair of knee high black combat boots with blue laces. It was a good start to her wardrobe, and she smiled as she checked her internal clock for her time. In total, she had taken roughly twenty minutes to follow orders; it was a good time.

“Good time.” She blinked as David’s voice echoed her thoughts and she smiled up at him as he held out a black bomber jacket with patches over the arms and ‘DPD SWAT’ on the back. “They didn’t buy any jackets for you as I always keep a spare or two in my car, this is one of them. You should put it on as it’s rainy and chilly outside.”

“Ok.” She nodded as she stood and took the jacket to pull it on before reaching down to grab her tennis shoe box, and then her backpack as David grabbed his own duffel bag of gear and smiled approvingly at her. She tilted her head as she followed him out of the door, curious and thoughtful at the way his approving look made her smile and feel accomplished. Shaking her head, she fell into step with him as they entered the front hall and were met by Chloe and Elijah.

“Heading home?” Elijah questioned as David came to a stop, and she hummed as she watched the two briefly hug.

“Yeah, work resumes tomorrow and I have to get her settled in before then. Don’t be a stranger again, Elijah. Call or text. Regularly.” David ordered, chastising the younger man really. “I’ll be checking in with you myself, so don’t think you can hide from me.”

“Yes Captain.” Elijah replied with a grin and smirk before David lightly smacked the back of the inventor’s head. Turning away from the two men, she closed her eyes as she fought back a chuckle only to hum as she felt a hand on her shoulder, causing her to open her right eye and then her left in order to look at Chloe.

“I have gifts for you.” The blonde android spoke softly, with a sweet smile, and she blinked at the gift bag that the android held out to her. Setting her shoe box on the floor, she took the bag and curiously peeked inside, gasping softly as her gaze fell upon the wrapped boxes of a new phone and a matching pair of headphones. “There is also an envelope in the bag with a birthday card, and a bank card. Elijah wanted you to have an emergency fund, just in case.”

Blinking, she smiled and set the bag on the floor by her shoes before moving and tightly hugging the older android. As much as the blonde could annoy her while with her energetic siblings, alone she was actually very calming and Dahlia found herself growing fond of her. Gently squeezing, she smiled as Chloe tightly hugged her back before softly pressing a kiss to the top of her head. It was sweet and motherly, and she couldn’t resist a giggle at the way it caused something warm to bubble up within her chest.

“Dahlia, we should be going.” David’s voice called and she nodded as he hugged Chloe one more time before letting go and turning to hug Elijah too. She was grateful for the presents, and so wanted to show it in hugging the man. After a quick squeeze from him in return, she stepped away from him to grab her gift bag and shoe box before following David out of the house and to his car. 

She gave one last wave to the couple standing on their doorstep as David set the car on full automatic driving. She was curious about the drive ‘home’, and so settled into the passenger seat as they began to back out of the driveway. Both of them gave another wave before the couple returned back inside to the warmth of their home, and she turned in her slightly in her seat as they lost sight of the slightly hidden house to watch the passing landscape.

* * *

* * *

**_April 17, 2038_ **

**_PM 11:00_**

David rolled his shoulders as he sat up in bed and watched Dahlia as she run her slender fingers through her wild curls, fussing with them over the wild sex hair state that he had ruffled them into from constantly having run his hands through them as they’d had sex. He had never been with a WR400, or Traci, model; but now having slept with an android model built with capabilities for sexual acts, he could admit to a certain _allure_ for the models. He definitely preferred Dahlia over any bland sex bot, however, and as he watched her fuss with her tangled curls, he made a mental note to send Elijah a thank you gift of some kind. Chuckling as she once again fussed with her curls, he shifted forward, leaning across the bed and loosely wrapped an arm around her waist before tugging her backwards.

“David!” Dahlia huffed as she glared up at him as her back hit the mattress and he chuckled at the pout on her lips. “My hair is already an absolute mess, please do stop and desist with your mission of making it worse.”

“Just fix it in the morning, Dahlia.” He suggested as he moved a few strands of curls from her face and looked down into her nebula colored eyes. Elijah had most definitely surpassed himself with her creation, and David was grateful that he’d been the one chosen for such a precious gift. “It’s late. Time for bed.”

“Oh...” She made that cute ‘oh’ face again, and he chuckled as she rolled and twisted her face in a slightly curious expression before crawling up the bed and moving back under the sheets beside him. Shaking his head at the way she fussed with her hair again, he turned off the dim lights and stretched out in bed before pulling her into his side. His alarm was set for _0600_ in the morning, and perhaps he shouldn’t have slept with her so late in the night, but he would deal with any fallout come morning. At present, he was a bit _too_ blissed out to care. “Goodnight David.”

“Goodnight, Dahlia.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have an odd love and healthy obsession for Captain Allen; I do not truly know why, I just know I absolutely love him so very much. He’s just so squishy and something about him makes my heart go “boom”. 
> 
> Note: All androids and their descriptions mentioned in Elijah’s explanation of the CA400 are models mentioned throughout the game, and if you want to check my information, check out the game’s Wikia Fandom page ‘Android’.


End file.
